Hotel Portofino

Hotel Portofino is a British period drama television series, created and written by Matt Baker. It is about a British family in the 1920s who own and operate a hotel for wealthy clients in an Italian resort town. The six-episode first season was released on BritBox in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2022 and began airing on ITV from 3 February 2023. It premiered on Sky Italia on 28 February 2022.[1]

Hotel Portofino
Hotel pic from the series
GenrePeriod drama
Created byMatt Baker
Written byMatt Baker
Directed byAdam Wimpenny
StarringNatascha McElhone
Lucy Akhurst
ComposerStefano Cabrera
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJulie Bains
Production locations
  • Italy
  • Croatia
CinematographyErol Zubcevic
Production companyEagle Eye Drama
Release
Original networkBritBox
Original release27 January 2022 (2022-01-27) –
present

The series was renewed for a second season, which began broadcasting 12 February 2023.[2] The show has been renewed for a third season.[3]

Plot

Bella Ainsworth and her family run a hotel for wealthy holidaymakers in the resort town of Portofino on the Italian Riviera. However, as they deal with the problems of running the hotel while subjected to deception and rampant corruption, the nation of Italy is dealing with political turmoil brought on by the rise of the Fascist movement.

Cast

Main

Recurring
  • Petar Benčić as Francesco (series 1)
  • Maya Ramadan as Lottie Mays-Smith (series 1)
  • Henry Tomlinson as Viscount Heddon
  • Dominic Tighe as Pelham Wingfield (series 1)
  • Bethan Cullinane as Lizzie Wingfield (series 1)
  • Bruno Nacinovich as Salvatore (series 2)
  • Marko Braic as Bruno (series 2)
  • Melanie Gray as Jane Dodsworth (series 2)
  • Antonio Scarpa as Sergeant Poretti (series 2)
  • Michele Moran as Patricia Dodsworth (series 2)

Episodes

Series 1
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.K. viewers
(millions)
1"First Impressions"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker27 January 2022 (2022-01-27)N/A
2"Lessons"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker3 February 2022 (2022-02-03)N/A
3"Invitations"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker10 February 2022 (2022-02-10)N/A
4"Uncoverings"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker17 February 2022 (2022-02-17)N/A
5"Discoveries"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker24 February 2022 (2022-02-24)N/A
6"Denouements"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker3 March 2022 (2022-03-03)N/A

Series 2
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Returns"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker12 February 2023 (2023-02-12) (AUS)N/A
17 March 2023 (2023-03-17) (UK)
2"Alliances"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker19 February 2023 (2023-02-19) (AUS)N/A
24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) (UK)
3"Coming Together"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker26 February 2023 (2023-02-26) (AUS)N/A
31 March 2023 (2023-03-31) (UK)
4"Contortions"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker5 March 2023 (2023-03-05) (AUS)N/A
7 April 2023 (2023-04-07) (UK)
5"Subterfuges"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker12 March 2023 (2023-03-12) (AUS)N/A
14 April 2023 (2023-04-14) (UK)
6"Farewells"Adam WimpennyMatt Baker19 March 2023 (2023-03-19) (AUS)N/A
21 April 2023 (2023-04-21) (UK)

Production

Baker created and wrote the first series in autumn 2020. Principal photography took place on location in Rijeka, Lovran, and Rovinj, Croatia and minor part was filmed in Portofino, Italy in 2021. A novelisation of the series, written by JP O'Connell, was published in December 2021 ahead of the series launch on BritBox.[4][5]

The second series began filming in July 2022, which was Croatia's biggest television production of that year. The production employed 135 Croatian crew, including 13 out of 14 heads of departments, and more than 800 extras.[6]

Release

BetaFilm Group is handling international distribution of the series. In June 2021, it was announced the first series of Hotel Portofino had sold to BritBox and ITV, Sky Italia, Foxtel in Australia and the American broadcaster PBS.[7] Sales expanded to DR in Denmark, Sveriges Television, Norway’s NRK, Yle in Finland, Icelandic broadcaster Sýn and NPO in the Netherlands by October.[4]

BritBox released a trailer for the first series on 5 January 2022.[8]

Reception

Radio Times consistently complimented series one, awarding Hotel Portofino a glowing front cover and countless Pick of the Days. Jane Rackham also boasted the 'sumptuous period drama' as 'enjoyable escapism' in the magazine.

Anita Singh in The Telegraph gave the first series two out of five stars, praising the production values but unimpressed by the writing. Singh remarked, 'It is a drama serial which draws so heavily from The Durrells and Downton Abbey that it could have been assembled from an ITV kit, although it is a pale imitation of both. [9]

Barbara Ellen of The Observer awarded the second series two out of five stars, summarizing it as 'so silly you may just enjoy it.'[10]

References
  1. Ugolini, Chiara (27 January 2022). "I love Italy, da 'Hotel Portofino' a 'White Lotus' passando per 'The morning show': tutti amano l'Italia (vera e falsa)". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. "MIPTV: 'Hotel Portofino' Gets Season 2 Order, 'Professor T' Sells Wide". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 April 2022.
  3. https://www.televisual.com/news/hotel-portofino-opens-its-doors-for-a-third-season/
  4. Bałaga, Marta (26 October 2021). "Beta Film pre-sells historical family saga Hotel Portofino in the Nordics and the Netherlands". CinEuropa. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. "ITV and BritBox will feature Opatija on a new drama series". Brit Flix. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. Zajović, Milena (30 August 2022). "Second Season of 'Hotel Portofino,' starring Natascha McElhone, Is Croatia's Biggest Shoot This Year". Variety. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. Kanter, Jake (9 June 2021). "'Hotel Portofino': Natascha McElhone Period Drama Series Sells To ITV/BritBox, Sky Italia, Foxtel". Deadline.
  8. Cremona, Patrick (5 January 2022). "Natascha McElhone stars in first trailer for Hotel Portofino". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. Singh, Anita (27 January 2022). "Hotel Portofino, review: 1920s period drama tries, and fails, to copy Downton and The Durrells". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  10. Ellen, Barbara (5 February 2023). "This week in TV: Nolly; Putin vs the West; Emily Atack: Asking for it?; Hotel Portofino". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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